


Companion

by eclecticxdetour



Series: Off and On Again [2]
Category: Actor RPF, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-02
Updated: 2014-08-02
Packaged: 2018-02-11 12:29:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2068206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eclecticxdetour/pseuds/eclecticxdetour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris and Sebastian adopt a dog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Companion

**Author's Note:**

> This part takes place sometime after they're an established, long-term couple and have moved in together. This wouldn't be anything without [Aimee](http://stevebottoms.tumblr.com/). If you have tumblr, go like and reblog her [super lovely Evanstan IT AU gifset](http://stevebottoms.tumblr.com/post/91674586331/evanstan-it-au-we-find-the-guys-further-down) she made for our universe. The gifset is direct inspiration for the first scene! Also, check out [my tag](http://eclecticxdetour.tumblr.com/tagged/evanstan-IT-au-fic) for more IT AU ficlets.

**Title** : Companion  
 **Pairing** : Chris Evans/Sebastian Stan  
 **Word Count** : 4160  
 **Rating** : PG  
 **Warnings** : fluff, use of endearments  
 **Spoilers** : None  
 **Disclaimer** : This is in no way real, I do not own or know any of these people. This is a product of my own imagination and I just thought I would share.  
 **Summary** : Chris and Sebastian adopt a dog.  
 **A/N** : This wouldn't be anything without [Aimee](http://stevebottoms.tumblr.com/). If you have tumblr, go like and reblog her [super lovely Evanstan IT AU gifset](http://stevebottoms.tumblr.com/post/91674586331/evanstan-it-au-we-find-the-guys-further-down) she made for our universe. The gifset is direct inspiration for the first scene! Also, check out [my tag](http://eclecticxdetour.tumblr.com/tagged/evanstan-IT-au-fic) for more IT AU ficlets.  
 **A/N** : This part takes place sometime after they're an established, long-term couple and have moved in together.

“…a dog.”

Sebastian nodded and shifted to sit with his back against the headboard. “A dog,” he affirmed, fingering the edge of the comforter at his waist. “It’s not that I’m not happy with you to fill up my time when we’re at home, but I think we would be very happy with a pup. And you _love_ dogs.”

“You been thinking about this a while?” asked Chris, rolling onto his side and wrapping his arms around Sebastian’s thighs, lying with his cheek against Sebastian’s hip.

“About a month after we moved in here,” answered Sebastian, dropping his hand to Chris’ head and stroking his messy hair. He ran his tongue over his teeth, grimacing at how gross his mouth felt. “I’m going to brush my teeth, but we’re still gonna talk about this. There’s some, uh, _literature_ in my—” he reached for the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out several print-outs. “Take a look.” Dropping them next to Chris’ legs, he peeled himself out of Chris’ grasp and walked into their en-suite.

Chris yawned and took Sebastian’s place, snatching up the few pages on dog care and local shelters they could adopt from. The buzzing of Sebastian’s toothbrush echoed in their bathroom as he looked over the print-outs. He saw the projected costs of dog-care, a little less expensive than he had been expecting and with two steady incomes they could definitely afford a companion. He rubbed his brow and called, “You _do_ know a dog is a big responsibility right? We gotta doggy-proof our house…”

Sebastian looked away from the mirror and gestured toward Chris with his still pulsating toothbrush. “ _You_ can make our house dog safe. And the yard’s more than big enough.”

Chris nodded, lips pursing, because he _could_ make their house doggy-safe. Their backyard was already fenced in and if they didn’t adopt a damned mountain dog there was definitely more than enough room for a medium- or small-sized dog to run around and play. “What about both of us working?” he yelled, flipping through to a dog-care print-out. Since they moved further away from the city, it would be more difficult for one of them to get home to let the dog out during a lunch break. _3-5 times a day_? Sebastian worked 9-5 and he often had to be on site by 8 o’clock. He usually got home around 4 or 5, later if it was an outside job during the summer. He was pretty sure any sized dog would need to be let out _at least_ once in the span of eight or nine hours.

“Doggy door!” yelled Sebastian, cursing when toothpaste foam dripped out of his mouth and caught in the hair on his sternum.

“…of course, a doggy door,” said Chris, flapping the print-outs against the rumpled comforter. He had to admit that he, too, had been thinking about getting _some_ sort of pet because their home was bigger than necessary for two people. It made him grin, Sebastian having brought up the subject. He knew Sebastian hadn’t had a family pet growing up and it pleased him that Sebastian wanted to adopt one with him. He set aside the print-outs and stretched, yawn cracking his jaw as he called, “…Okay! But you better not punk out when it comes time for walks.”

Sebastian laughed and dove onto the bed, landing near the foot and army crawling his way up toward Chris. He smiled and leant up, kissing Chris lightly when Chris leant down. “Fuck you, just because I’m not as into hiking as you are doesn’t mean I’m completely opposed to going outside. We’ve been to the park together!”

“M’only teasin’, baby,” laughed Chris, swatting Sebastian’s ass and then kissing him again. “Since you’re all minty now, I guess it’s my turn to stop being disgusting, huh?”

“Ugh, _please_ do,” he teased, rolling off the bed. “I’m gonna put on clothes and then maybe we can check out the shelters?”

“You want to do this _today_?” asked Chris, brows rising into his hairline before he made it into the bathroom.

“Pretty sure someone I know is fond of the saying ‘no time like the present, right?’ Besides, it’s not like we’ll get to bring him or her home right after we decide who’s gonna join us.”

“You’re a nightmare,” teased Chris, watching Sebastian get undressed through the mirror before sighing and readying his toothbrush.

 

 

The first shelter they’d visited only had larger dogs for adoption. The one medium-sized dog housed there had a pending adoption that was very likely to go through. Their visit to the second shelter yielded similar results, bigger dogs that would need more exercise than their yard or schedules allowed for, with more manageable dogs that had pending adoptions.

Sebastian was bummed that they hadn’t been able to find a companion at the closer shelters. He programmed the address of the third, a little out of the way, into the truck’s GPS and then settled in the passenger’s seat. “We probably should’ve looked on their websites first. Sorry.”

“You don’t know how often their pages are updated, though, Bash. Don’t worry about it, man,” said Chris, sparing Sebastian a grin and patting his thigh. “It’s not like we had other plans for our day anyway.”

“Eh, I know. Stupidly, I just hoped we’d find the right fit for us at the first place, you know?” Sebastian half smiled at Chris and looked at the GPS. Chris explained that he’d turned off the GPS voice when he first got the truck because it sounded too condescending when it gave directions. “Hey, it’s coming up on the right; it’s that separate building in the shopping center.”

“I see it,” said Chris, turning into the lot and finding a spot that was near the building.

They bumped one another’s hips, laughing as they walked into the shelter. A bubbly young woman at the front desk greeted them.

“Good afternoon, fellas, what can I help you with?”

“We’re, um, looking to adopt a dog,” said Sebastian, leaning against the front desk and grinning at the young woman.

“Wonderful! Well, I’m Ada, but Geoff and Melanie are in the yard socializing the dogs. I’m happy to show you back there if you’d like?”

“Sounds perfect. Lead the way,” said Chris, waiting for Ada to head through the double doors before taking Sebastian’s hand. “It seems like we’ll have better luck here.”

“We’ve only got six dogs right now, but I hope you manage to bond with one of them,” said Ada, smiling as she held open the other set of double doors to the yard. “Melanie! Geoff! We’ve got a couple of guys interested in one of our pups!”

“Send ‘em out!” called Geoff, worming away from the two dogs wriggling for attention and unlocking the gate. “Hey, I’m Geoff,” he said, shaking both of their hands and laughing as the dogs scrambled toward them.

“Oh, wow,” laughed Chris, lowering his hands and holding them out for the dogs to sniff. “All of them are up for adoption?” he asked, watching as the dogs switched their attention to Sebastian, sniffing his hands and rubbing their sides against his legs, dark jeans covered in fur in seconds.

“Yup. Ooh, Princess finished her treat! She’s coming!” said Melanie, snorting as a short gray and white dog bounded— _waddled_ , really—toward them for sniffs.

“Doesn’t really look like a Princess,” said Sebastian, crouching down and letting the pup sniff him after she pawed at his shin. She yipped and the other dogs ran at him, eager for more attention now that he was on their level.

“Dogs are pretty susceptible to re-naming especially if you keep it to something short,” said Geoff, watching as most of the dogs lost attention and returned to Melanie to play with the toys. “Like Melanie said, the waddler is Princess, and the pit terrier is Deeks.”

“They seem to like you, Bash,” laughed Chris, crouching down too, grinning when Princess pushed against his hand, leaning into him when he scratched her fluffy chest. “Is she part _Husky_?” he asked, coloring and head shape definitely that of the sled-dog.

“Husky-Corgi. Not sure how the deliberate mixed breeding ended up in a shelter, but she’s a good girl,” said Geoff, giggling when she flopped onto her side and exposed her belly. “We’re pretty sure she’s around four or five.”

Deeks lost interest in him so Sebastian sat in the grass, giving Princess all of his attention. “She’s super friendly.”

“Yeah, she’s the most submissive of the lot. She’s happy to show anyone her belly, aren’t you girl,” said Geoff, patting the pooch’s stomach when Chris and Sebastian stopped petting her. “She has no problem walking on a leash. She’s a little chunkier than she should be, but not so much that it’d be detrimental to her health.”

Princess righted herself and went to Sebastian for more attention, butt wriggling when he scratched where her poofy tail met her long body. “Does she do okay with steps?” he asked, thinking of their wide front steps. She butted against his hand when he stopped scratching and he smiled.

“If they’re not too steep, she’s fine. It gets a little tricky with long staircases ‘cuz of her long body, so if your place has bigger staircases it would be beneficial if there’s an elevator. Unless you don’t mind carrying the little chub up and down the stairs.”

“Our place is single level and the walkway steps aren’t too high,” said Chris, scratching behind Princess’ ears when she nudged him for attention, too, eyes drooping and face relaxed.

“Is she really active?” asked Sebastian, smiling as Princess stepped out from under their hands and lay down in front of them.

“She likes to play with the other dogs, but goes off on her own not long after we bring them out; she’s a sunbather. Gets pretty pooped after a walk around the treed area behind the shopping center.”

Sebastian grinned at Chris and raised both of his eyebrows.

“I know, man, I like her, too,” said Chris, rubbing his fingers over his beard and slowly standing. Sebastian was already in love with Princess. He’d liked all the other dogs they’d seen, but the way Sebastian’s mouth curled up at one side as he lavished Princess with attention belied how much he wanted the little dog in their life. “How would we go about putting in an adoption application?”

Sebastian chuckled and stood, reaching out and squeezing the back of Chris’ neck. Chris would have been happy with any dog that they both got along with. His asking for adoption papers for Princess without hesitation just because of the grin he gave Chris made heat spread through his chest and stomach. He tugged Chris a little closer and planted a kiss against his temple, laughing when Chris curled an arm around his waist and side-hugged him.

“Hey Mel, they’re interested in Princess!”

“Fantastic! I can handle everything out here if you want to talk with them and Ada?”

“Right-o,” said Geoff, clapping his hands. “If y’all want to follow me back inside…” He grinned when Chris and Sebastian bent down to pat Princess.

“Hey, Ada? Do you have dog adoption applications printed out?”

“Of course; printed out a new stack at the beginning of the week,” answered Ada, spinning around and plucking a stapled application from a document divider. At length, she explained the application and approval process. “But before you’re allowed to bring your pup home, a team of us will be out to your place to see if all the info provided checks out. Basically to ensure your home will be a good home for the pooch and if anything needs to be rectified.”

Chris and Sebastian stared blankly at Ada and she laughed. “It sounds like a lot, and well it kind of is, but--”

“ _But_ ,” said Geoff, clapping Ada’s shoulders and guiding her back into the office chair, “we care a lot about these dogs and want to ensure they’ll have good futures.”

Chris kept staring, but Sebastian grinned and took the application and a clipboard from Geoff. “No no, we understand.”

“Make sure you read all the information at the top before getting into the meat of it,” said Geoff, smiling and rubbing the top of his head. “I should get back to Melanie so we can wrangle up the dogs. Ada can help if y’all have any questions.”

Chris nodded, smiling and sitting next to Sebastian on the chairs in the lobby. “Looks like our lack of plans this afternoon was good for something.”

 

 

Chris was picking him up after work when Sebastian’s cellphone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced over at Chris, Chris’ eyes wide as Chris gently shook his shoulder.

“Answer it!”

The number was unfamiliar, so he answered, “Hello, you’ve reached Sebastian?”

_“And Chris, hopefully?”_

_Geoff_ , mouthed Sebastian, recognized the cracking inflection of the shelter worker. “Yeah, he’s here. Good news on, uh, Princess I hope?”

_“Of course, good news. Princess was super comfortable with you two and you’ve had experience with dogs in the past and your house sounds perfect for the little nugget.”_

Chris snorted over the playful epithet.

_“We’ll need to schedule a visit before you can bring her home, though. And finalizing the adoption and the fees and everything.”_

“Martin will definitely let me take off Wednesday…”

“Nobody else is out this week so I’m sure I can convince Jen to approve leave for then, too,” said Sebastian, unmuting his cell. “Would Wednesday be too early for a visit?”

_“Absolutely fine. We’re doing another visit not too far from your place around 10. How does noon sound?”_

He quirked a brow at Chris and Chris nodded, grinning. “That’s perfect, Geoff.”

 _“Great. It’ll be me and Caleb coming. Kid’s got a cast on his arm so you’ll recognize him if you see him coming up your walk,”_ said Geoff, laughing.

“Alright, so noon on Wednesday. Thanks for calling, Geoff!”

_“No problem. Y’all have a good evening.”_

“You, too. Thanks again.”

_“Sure thing. Bye!”_

Sebastian tucked his phone back into his pocket and twisted toward Chris. “We got Princess!”

“Yeah, we did. We better get started on installing that doggy door for the back…”

“ _You_ can. I’ll supervise. Pet store?”

“Already headed there.”

 

“…thank Christ the damn mosquitos aren’t active yet,” said Sebastian, leaning against the back door jamb, watching as Chris drilled holes in the door. He tipped back a quarter of his beer, teasingly shaking it at Chris who frowned at him.

“That a challenge?”

“Dude, it’s Monday.”

“Bet I can get this perfectly sawed before you finish your beer,” said Chris, tipping his head and smirking at Sebastian.

Sebastian was no good at chugging under pressure and Chris’ skill with power tools was truly impressive. “On three,” he said anyway, narrowing his eyes when Chris adjusted his safety goggles.

He counted to three and Chris _narrowly_ outsawed his chugging. Sebastian grimaced over the beer dregs. “I will never get used to that. _Gross_.”

“I’m nearly finished, so I can soon join in the gross-ness.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“You want to mark the holes while I change out the drill bit?”

Sebastian shrugged and took the pencil Chris handed him, carefully circling the position of the screws for the doggy door. He lifted the pet door out and held it while Chris efficiently drilled the holes. “Is it completely fucking weird that you using power tools really turns me on?”

Chris laughed. “Absolutely not. Why do you think we had sex every time you finished building a computer for one of your bros?”

“ _Meatball_ ,” laughed Sebastian, plopping the frame in the hole again. They quickly assembled the doggy door, Chris easily lifting the back door and putting it back on its hinges. He clipped the long ends of the plastic screws while Chris put his tools in the shed. Cracking open two cold beers, he settled on the couch, flipping on the TV as he waited for Chris to come back inside.

“Thanks,” said Chris, smiling and taking his beer once he settled with his feet in Sebastian’s lap. Whatever documentary had been on ended and Sebastian flipped through the channels while he finished off his first beer. “Gonna get another one,” he said, ruffling Sebastian’s hair and hoisting himself off the couch, “find something good, would ya’?”

“Go _away_.” Sebastian laughed, sipping his beer and flicking through the guide. Several episodes of America’s Funniest Videos were scheduled back to back so he settled on the local network.

Chris laughed when he came back into the living room. “My favorite! It’s like you love me or something,” he said, settling next to Sebastian and leaning against his shoulder, Sebastian’s arm around him pulling a pleased hum from his chest.

They quietly watched the first hour of AFV, Chris laughing hysterically any time little kids fell over; he slapped his chest whenever it was a dog that did the knocking over. Three beers under their belts, they were both a little tipsy. After their venture to the pet store they hadn’t eaten dinner before organizing Princess’ things and installing the doggy door.

“What’re we gonna rename her?" asked Sebastian, his turn to lean into Chris as he slowly worked on a fourth beer.

“Dunno. Princess is such a _delicate_ sounding title. She’s definitely not delicate.”

“She’s part _Husky_.”

“Can’t believe it with her bitty body. _Nugget_ ,” recalled Chris, laughing hard and clapping Sebastian’s pec.

“Idiot,” said Sebastian, hint of a grin tugging at his mouth. “Maybe a stronger sounding title?”

Chris hummed and finished off his last beer. “Childhood neighbor had a dog called Chief. Big, gorgeous Shepherd. The name was fitting for a huge dog, but Princess is still a little thing.”

“What she’s not big enough to be commanding?”

“Could you _imagine_ her in charge of a doggy army?” asked Chris, furrowing his brow over his dumb thought, shoving at Sebastian when Sebastian laughed. “She’s not very big and she’s a little chunky. No _way_ would she be in any sort of command position.”

“Then it would be _ironic_ ,” said Sebastian.

“Not Chief, though. Maybe…Sarge sounds too aggressive. What about…Captain? We could…Cap for short?”

Sebastian frowned, rubbing his fingers over the cleft of his chin. “Captain, like what, Captain Rum?”

“What, Captain Ru—” Chris laughed, hand slapping down over his thigh before he wrapped his arms around Sebastian’s waist and squished him into the couch. He pressed kisses all over Sebastian’s face and giggled more, “ _Exactly_ like Captain Rum, Bash.”

“I don’t—” started Sebastian, frowning before his brows shot upward. “ _Morgan_ , asshole. _Captain Morgan_. You _know_ what I meant!”

“You were _so_ convinced that you were right, oh my _god_ ,” snorted Chris, burying his face in Sebastian’s neck and making himself comfortable on top of Sebastian. “Captain _Rum_. S’perfect, Bash. Under that dark fur, she’s kinda got that reddish-brown coloring like spiced rum. Probably end up calling her Cap, ‘cuz it’s easier.”

“Good. _Cap_ ; I like it,” said Sebastian, letting his eyes fall closed for a few seconds as he stroked Chris’ back. “ _Hey_ ,” he said, smacking Chris’ ass, “don’t get too comfy ‘cuz we gotta find something to eat.”

“Mm, can reheat the chops from the other night,” hummed Chris, rubbing his scruff against Sebastian’s throat. He got off of Sebastian and held out his hand. “Up you get.”

Sebastian groaned and let Chris throw an arm around his shoulders and guide him into the kitchen.

“ _Captain Rum_ ,” murmured Chris, snorting and running into the kitchen, Sebastian cursing in Romanian and chasing after him.

 

 

At 11:48 Wednesday morning, a young man with a cast on his arm and a familiar mustachioed Geoff knocked on their front door.

At 1:27, Chris’s cheeks hurt from smiling as he drove their now grown family home.

“Jesus, she’s so _calm_ ,” said Sebastian, stroking Cap where she sat on the back bench seat with him, pushing her head into his hand whenever he stopped petting for even a second.

“I’m glad that she doesn’t get anxious in the car,” said Chris, catching Sebastian’s gaze in the rearview and grinning. He pulled into their driveway and twisted back toward Sebastian. “I’ll get the food inside and meet you guys back out in the front?”

Sebastian nodded and clipped Cap’s leash onto her harness. He climbed out and scooped her up, setting her down before shutting the truck door. She immediately nosed at the grass lining the driveway, little body waddling as she leisurely sniffed her way into their front yard. Smiling as she scented her new home, he watched her tail wag back and forth, amazed that a few days ago he and Chris had only been _talking_ about adopting a dog. Cap plopped down in the sunlight, tongue lolling out as he settled down next to her. None of their neighbors were walking along their block so he unclipped her and leant back, one hand rubbing her belly when she rolled onto her side.

“Hey,” called Chris, grinning when Sebastian turned toward him. He quickly snapped a picture of Sebastian and Cap, sending the photo to both of their mothers before Cap realized he was back. “C’mere girl,” he said, kneeling next to Sebastian so she could waddle toward him. “Hey there, Cap, this is your new home, baby girl.”

She panted at him and tipped her head, heavily leaning into the scratch of his fingers, back leg kicking when he hit a good spot. “Oh yeah,” he drawled, “that feels good, doesn’t it. Look at your little leg.”

Sebastian laughed, throwing his head back as Cap tried to scratch the same spot Chris was. She wriggled away from Chris and scratched at her own neck, head tipping at them when she realized they were staring at her. She stood and her tail whipped back and forth.

“Maybe we should let her get used to inside? See if she can figure out the doggy door,” said Chris, taking the leash after Sebastian clipped it back on Cap. She kept wagging her tail as he guided her around the yard, patiently waiting as she squatted to pee. She pawed at the ground before shaking out her body and following him and Sebastian up the stepped walkway.

He kept her on the leash as he showed her to her water bowl in the kitchen, Cap happily following where Chris led. She lapped up some water and then sat next to her bowl.

“You can probably unclip her,” said Sebastian, leaning against the counter and looking down at Cap, smiling when she stayed where she was. “Come, Cap,” he called, whistling and hoping she responded to the name. She shuffled off her haunches and rounded Chris to stand by him, following him when he went into the living room. He sat cross-legged next to her bed, patting the cushion and calling for her. Cap’s ears perked up and she bounced over, tail wagging as she splayed on the cushion so he could pet her.

“Wow, she’s perfect,” said Chris, sitting across from Sebastian and reaching for one of the toys, a fluffy hedgehog with a squeaker inside. He squeezed it and it yelped, Cap flipping upright, ears perked as she crept toward him to investigate. Squeaking it again, she startled, yipping and wriggling. “You want the hedgehog?” he squeaked it again and Sebastian chuckled. “You better get it.” He dragged the toy back and forth in front of him, laughing as she scrambled after it, pouncing on it whenever he squeezed it.

Chris squeaked the toy and tossed it at Sebastian, laughing when Cap followed the hedgehog into Sebastian’s lap. Sebastian grabbed the toy with one hand and protected his groin with the other.

“Not cool, Chris,” said Sebastian narrowing his eyes at Chris, Cap tugging at the toy and getting his attention. He squeaked it and tugged against Cap’s pulling, chuckling at how little effort he had to give to keep Cap in place. Her tail wagged happily, little body jerking as she gave her all into getting the toy away from him.

She gave up after a few minutes, Sebastian easily pulling her side to side with the toy in her mouth. Sebastian lay on his side, one arm propping up his head as he squeezed the toy with the other. Cap’s tail wagged and she took the hedgehog from him, settling in the curve of his body and gnawing on the squeaker. He stroked her ears and grinned at Chris.

Chris grinned back and knee-walked closer, letting Sebastian lay with his head in his lap as they watched Cap play with her hedgehog. He combed his fingers through Sebastian’s hair and said, “It’s a good thing you convinced me to check out shelters when you did.”

“Yeah,” sighed Sebastian, patting Cap’s head and smiling, “it is.”


End file.
